Together
by Scruff the Rat
Summary: Sometimes what we see can look like a happy ending. At times like those, we have to remember: life doesn't work that way...but Beau's about to learn that the bad in life, like the good, doesn't always have to be all there is...Last part to the "How the Caged Bird Sings" series...


**A continuation of "Take My Hand" and "Believe"...**

**This is the last part of the series because I don't want to overstretch the character development with anything overused or cliché. I ****_might_****, however, (emphasis on the word ****_might_****) make one-shots for ideas pertaining to Beau's new family.**

* * *

A week ago...

_"You may now kiss the bride."_

_As the audience of family and friends roared with cheers and congrats at the kiss shared between him and his new wife, Beau reflected on how far he'd come since his childhood. He still couldn't believe all of the joys and pains and blessings and tribulations he'd lived through had led to this moment: a time of déjà vu where Beau felt 20 years younger, about to marry the angel that had not only captured his heart but accepted it as a piece of her own._

_And as he felt her presence in his mouth, her grip on him snug and loving, Beau felt like the happiest man on Mobius right now. He felt like he could take off and fly, Vanilla with him in his arms. He felt like things could only go up from here._

_A happy forever after a long, rough, and painful story—an oddly optimistic (and partially mistaken) viewpoint in hindsight..._

* * *

_Present..._

The eyes...all those piercing eyes...some angry, others afraid, some just...unsure...the marketplace pulsated with them...the whispered sneers were even worse...

It was all Cream could do not to scream at them to stop.

It was all Antoine could do not to shoo them away and order them to return to their own business.

It was all Beauregard could do to just not look at Antoine.

In all honesty, the crowds' staring and murmurs were nothing new to the rabbot; he'd been dealing with such occurrences even _before_ he became Grandmaster. Even though the Great Desert's populace wasn't as drastic in its socioeconomic groupings as were other regions, a man of Beau's fine-upbringing was hard to miss, mostly due to the finely tailored clothes.

No, the only reason the rabbit felt steamed right now was a certain coyote mercenary from the Kingdom of Acorn.

Despite his calm façade and the presence of his stepdaughter's hand in his own organic one, Beau still fought back the bile piling up at the back of his throat at the thought—the mere _nerve_—of this D'Coolette boy accompanying him like some type of bodyguard.

What; was the elder Rabbot too "sickly" or "defenseless" to keep back a few angry faces?

This town, even with the subtle hostility, remained as peaceful as any place recovering from Eggman's tyranny could be. Besides, Beauregard was once Grandmaster of a Dark Egg Chapter. Granted, such a title carried negative connotation, but it also signified that this rabbit was not a person to be trifled with.

On another note, this boy had some nerve to just hound him with "innocent" questions about of how his day was or how his relationship with Vanilla was faring. This D'Coolette may have been Bunnie's husband, but that fact didn't mean Beauregard had to enjoy his presence.

_'And phew, what the hell did this boy pour on his self this mornin'?'_ the elder lapine griped as his nose twitched at the odor.

Whatever that cologne was (if one could breathe long enough to call it that) possessed a rather pungent essence, although Beau was probably just too clouded by his prejudice-convinced annoyance for his nose to operate right.

Cream, in stark contrast, didn't appear to mind the smell at all; in fact, even a casual observer could have concluded that the rabbit preteen enjoyed Antoine's scent. Her Southern father allowed a reluctant smile to slip over his wizened muzzle, the old man impressed once again by his daughter's capacity to view the world in a positive light. That aspect of the child's personality was just one of the numerous qualities that made Beau's heart fall in love with the young girl.

_'On the otha' hand...'_ The smile waned and its owner's broad shoulders sagged.

On the other hand, Beauregard couldn't prevent another part of his own self from cringing at the fact that one of his sources of pride and joy doted upon Antoine just as much as she did on Bunnie, Amy, Ozzie, and the rest of the Southern Belle, rosy rascal, and earthbound geologist's friends. In hindsight, the older rabbit supposed this development shouldn't have been a _too _much of a surprise, especially since it had been going on since even _before_ Vanilla met him at the party.

Antoine and Cream, believe it or not, were more alike than most folks would realize at first glance. Both of them were from rich families (or at least families of notable prestige), were raised to be courteous and kind to others, specialized and excelled in some form of combat—Ant in swordsmanship; Cream in aerial tactics— (_'...Although I doubt they'll be talkin' much about __**that**__ one...'_), and, most importantly, now shared personal, familial incentives in the Rabbit/Rabbot family.

A mild tap to his right arm brought Beau out of his deep reverie, bringing his attention to a pair of crystal blue eyes.

"_Pardon moi_, Sir Beauregard," Ant remarked in his French accent, "but I think Cream would like to show us sometheeng."

One thick, orange eyebrow flew up Beau's head as the buck shot a curious look down at the young coyote. For once, no animosity lingered in his eyes, although there _did_ persist a trace of unease. The Rabbot father quickly masked his suspicion with an easy smile after seeing the perky Cream tugging his hand with insatiable eagerness in her eyes.

"Alright, but we're moseyin' back home right afta'. Vanilla will have the whole barn if we all late to supper."

Cream giggled to herself. "Oh don't worry, Daddy. This won't take long at all!"

With Beau in tow and Antoine just behind, the tiny rabbit skipped her away to a part of the market to show the men a particularly lovely set of flowers she'd noticed just a few moments ago. The eleven-year old girl spotted her intended target and began hopping in total joy!

"There they are! There they are!"

The two males edged closer to the orange jasmine seated on the stand post right in front of them. The plant's lovey sunset petals fluttered in the summer breeze and seemed to absorb the rose red of the setting sun.

"_Sacre bleu_," Ant whispered in hushed awe, "It eez magnificent."

Beauregard merely nodded, though his attention wasn't on the beauty of the flower. His sights lay on the interactions between his son-in-law and future daughter as the pair took a look around at the other plants. Every time Cream would point out a flower she liked, Antoine always had a comment to share, whether it was about his personal opinion on a flower the little girl picked, one he liked himself, or his knowledge on a certain plant.

Regardless of the topic discussed, Antoine never downsized or antagonized Cream and her answers like Beau anticipated him to.

No, the coyote soldier's voice never went snide, never became harsh. It always remained courteous, thoughtful, and, most importantly, sincere. No matter how many times Beau turned the words he heard over and over again in his head, all he could see was a young, well-intentioned man humoring and cherishing the little sister he never thought he'd have.

Antoine smiled with Cream, laughed with her, dried a tear on her cheek after the discussion turned to the subject of flowers never lasting long (which, even Beau had to admit, was a pretty depressing topic to talk about in the first place), and even allowed the blooming girl to ride his back for a piggyback ride. Beau couldn't help chuckling as the coyote initially struggled to keep up the weight of the child balanced on his back.

"Eez sometheeng wrong, Mr. Rabbot?" Ant asked in concern once his struggle for balance ended, a lemon eyebrow raised in confusion and perhaps concern. Cream, too, couldn't help but notice the miniature spasms her father's face had been exhibiting just now.

"Nah, young 'uns, it's nothin'." Nothing besides the fact that he was secretly browbeating himself for ever being so critical... _'I oughta know bettah by now than judge someone so harshly anyway._'

Vanilla had taught him that, after all—and, boy, that was one lesson the woman made sure Beau would _never_ forget.

* * *

Just like he'd never forget the new, fresh lump on the head Vanilla accidently gave him right before he, Cream, and Antoine came in.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie! I should've checked before I opened the door!"

Dressed in only his black pants, the golden fur of his bare upper body glowing in the sunlight streaming through the window of his and Vanilla's bedroom, Beauregard regarded his spouse's fervent apology with a look of surprise before offering the distraught doe a soothing smile and taking her glove-less hands in his own, making sure not to squeeze too hard with his mechanized fingers.

"Hey now, don't go bein' so hard on yourself, Honey-baby._ I'm_ the one who shoulda' been lookin'." Beau smiled when Vanilla tentatively giggled at his assurance but involuntarily winced with discomfort when he felt his wife kiss his bandaged head injury.

_'Heh, love hurts, don't it?'_ he weakly quipped. It seemed like Vanilla socking him in the head had become something of a running gag lately.

His humor halted, though, when Vanilla directed his hands to her swelled abdomen. Beau shivered with pride and excitement once he felt a responding kick through the walls of his wife's womb. He hardly noticed when Vanilla removed her hands from his and placed them on his strong shoulders. Beau only broke his eyes away from his wife's stomach when he felt her chest press against his, her breasts soft and supple against his muscular front. Sultry chuckles bounced from the ex-Grandmaster's throat when Vanilla's stomach touched his next, the baby's kicking starting to feel like it was trying to knock the wind of its father.

The kicking only made Beau hold Vanilla's womb even tighter and closer. And as he did, he thought back to the reactions of the people at the marketplace. He wondered for a brief moment what sort of trails his own child, soon to be born to a former Legionnaire, would have to face.

_'No...Of course, the kid's gonna have problems to deal with throughout life, but that's what family is for: to celebrate the good times with ya and help ya through the bad times. I don't regret having our baby. I don't regret expanding our family. I only regret that I won't be a good father. Hell, if I couldn' even cut it as a proper uncle—'_

All of a sudden, a small body dropped into the buck's lap from out of nowhere, causing him and Vanilla jump away from each other, startled. Thankfully, though, the intrusion also jarred Beau from his depressing reverie.

When Beau got a closer look, he realized the culprit was Cheese, the chao smiling and chirping at him with his arms raised up like newborn wanting attention from their parent. Beau smiled warmly at the gesture and so fulfilled the sky-blue cherub's wish by picking him up and cradling him against his furry chest. The chao yawned as he curled its body into a ball, his arms and legs tucked in, content in Beau's warmth and touch.

All the buck could do was chuckle at silly Cheese's actions.

Leaning into her husband's side, Vanilla cooed at the cute creature that had taken to Beau so quickly. For a moment, she no longer saw Cheese in the buck's arms, but instead a baby rabbit. Vanilla could see the facial markings Cream shared with her, as well as Beauregard's deep golden fur and, when the infant looked her way, his gorgeous blue-grey eyes.

"Nellie...?"

Vanilla, startled out of _her_ thoughts this time, shot her head up only to discover Beau's eyes peer into her own, a concerned frown on the buck's muzzle. When the doe looked down at his arms, she found out that Cheese, no longer the baby rabbit as she had mistakenly envisioned, giving her a confused look, too.

"Um...yes, yes, I'm fine!" the mother rabbit stammered, resisting the strong urge to pick at her gloves, "I was simply thinking to myself. That's all."

She winced at the lie, knowing it was childish, not to mention useless, to hide the truth from someone as sharp-minded as her buck. Being a seasoned ex-military leader, Beauregard Lee Rabbot could tell when somebody was withholding information from him—a tactic he needed back in the day for interrogating enemy spies or soldiers, namely prisoners from Sand Blast City.

Beau raised an eyebrow at her and tsked in good nature. "Nellie, c'mon, I know a lady likes to keep a few secrets to herself, but, really, if whateva' got you daydreamin' was about the baby, then I don' see what harm tellin' me would do."

A gasp of shock escaped Vanilla at the buck's keen insight. _'Oh my word, I didn't think I was __**that **__obvious to him!'_

So much for _that _line of thought—but Beau had also made a good point. This baby was just as much as his as it was hers, so there'd be no fairness if Vanilla held out on a brief, harmless fantasy about their child. Vanilla tucked a strand of her hair behind one of her ears and nervously giggled.

"I _was_ thinking about our little one, actually...wondering how you'd look with her in your arms."

Both of Beau's eyebrows shot up. "_Her_—you already found out the gender, honey?"

"Yes," Vanilla affirmed with a smile, nodding. She tilted her head at her spouse with her eyes half-lidded slyly, looking oddly Rouge-like in her expression. "Why? Were you hoping for a boy this time?"

Knowing her question was merely a quip, Beau put his robotic hand up in mock defense, a goofy grin on his face. "Hey, it don't matter to me, as long as the kid loves us. Heh, I jus' couldn' help thinkin' how I keep gettin' stuck with girls to look afta' most of the time."

He had a point: Bunnie, Cream, and Matilda, independent as they were, tended to come to either Beau or Vanilla for advice (or simply Vanilla if they needed a woman's point of view) and sometimes even Amy sought the hare out for a "man's opinion" on a dress whenever her boyfriend, Ozzie, wasn't available.

Regardless, Vanilla couldn't help feeling touched by her husband's answer. So accepting and unconditional in his love—she knew she'd made the right choice in marrying him. She and Beau shared a round of soft chuckles and giggles, Cheese even smiling a little, the infectious mirth too much for the Chao to resist.

A few firm thuds unexpectedly rang from the door, which Vanilla, curious, arose from the bed and approached, wondering who that could be.

Opening that door gave her quite the shock.

Right in front of the mother rabbit were her daughter and her sibling-figures with most worrisome looks on their faces; Vanilla gasped at Amy's and Cream's concerned frowns and Ozzie's dark glower. The girls had their hands clasped together while Ozzie, standing behind them and looking to the floor, had his arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh dear...what's wrong, everyone?"

As if suddenly realizing where he was, Ozzie softened his look when he lifted his sight to Vanilla then switched it to his little sister and Amy, who, in turn, returned the look back. The trio shared a nod and looked back to the older Mobian—although Beau couldn't help but feel that whatever they had to say would include him as well.

Amy took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she did, and stared Vanilla right in the eyes. The mother rabbit could not recall ever seeing the girl hedgehog look so solemn, at least not since the Mecha Sally crisis.

"Jack is here."

* * *

"Hey there, old buddy!" Jack Rabbit greeted with a sleazy grin as he eyed the former Grandmaster in the eye, "I was wonderin' when you'd show up."

Silence spoke volumes for the tension.

"I _ain't_, never was, an' never will be your buddy, Jack," Beau retorted with an icy calmness that belied his inner rage. The two of them, while the Sand Blasters and the Freedom Fighters (Amy, Antoine, Ozzie, Bunnie, Mighty, Ray, and—against the teens' and adults' reservations—Cream and Cheese) and Matilda a distance behind them respectively, stood in the middle of the emptied street as the sight of the evening sun hid halfway behind the desert horizon, its fading crimson light coloring the scene.

Jack's goons were leaning against the wall of the general store, just across from the Rabbot household, arms crossed in a nonchalant manner, their grins enough to make Bunnie and Mighty grunt in disgust. Meanwhile, Jack himself pouted with false hurt as he took a step towards the taller rabbit and leaned forward a bit, his hands over his heart.

"Not even an acquaintance...even after all we've been through? I thought you knew me better, Beau."

"I do," Beauregard retorted with a growl, taking a step of his own forward, not touched at all by the use of his nickname, "So scram."

Losing the façade, the azure hare, one hand now akimbo, wagged a finger at Beau in reproach. "Nah ah, Beau-Boy, you an' I have a little something-something to settle."

Beau bristled with tension at the words, his hackles raised in defense, his grip on the cane tightening. Just what did this thug and his goons have in mind? With a tip of his head, Beau signaled Bunnie to get the others, especially Cream and Cheese, to back up a little. Eying her uncle with some disbelief and deep concern at first, Bunnie obliged and silently convinced her reluctant husband and friends to follow her lead.

_'I don't wanna kill off opportunities to call this logjam off befo' they even pop up...especially not in this town.'_ He wanted to prove to the people the same kind-heartedness and selflessness his family saw in him.

"Oh yeah, by the way, I heard you been keepin' busy," Jack tilted his view a bit to get a good view of Cream and Cheese, as well as of Vanilla, who looked in on the scene from the internal safety of the window. Amy and Ozzie stood in the hare's line of vision with matching glares to make him stop.

Jack scoffed at the younger Mobians' attempt and sneered at Beauregard, "And you're gonna protect them with _these_ little runts? Oh Lord, you _must_ be desperate."

If he expected to aggravate Beau and his allies any further, he was sadly mistaken. Ozzie and Bunnie shared a smirk; Amy and Antoine shared a wink; Matilda, Ray, and Mighty shared a thumbs-up; Cream and Cheese shared a giggle. Beauregard merely chuckled and crossed his hands behind his back, looking like the Grandmaster he once was more than ever, a grin on his face for the first time during this confrontation.

Jack and his cronies shot looks that ranged from annoyance to straight-out befuddlement at the responses Jack's taunt received. Some, like Tex, even felt insulted enough that they removed themselves from the wall and balled their hands into fists, teeth bared and muscles tensed, ready for a brawl.

The blue rabbit growled and stomped an armored foot on the ground. "What on tarnation are ya'll laughing at?"

_'These nimrods have got no idea what they're in for, do they?'_ Beau shook his head then rubbed a finger under his nose. "Oh, you an' your boys will figure the joke out..."

* * *

_A month later..._

"And boy did they figure it out," Beau chortled, throwing his head back, "Jack didn't even get a word in edgewise befo' Ozzie launched him inta the sky with a stalagmite in the...well, you know."

He winked knowingly at the tiny, sunlit-fur kit cradled in his arms as Vanilla and Cream (with Cheese, sitting in the pre-teen's lap) each sat beside them on the couch, both girls not bothering to stifle their giggles. Their actions only riled up Beau's pride more.

"Shoo, those knucklehead goons of his were so busy looking at how high up Jack went that they made themselves sitting ducks for everyone else." Beau shook his head. "I tell ya, sweetheart, Jack and his little buddies have _really _gotten sloppy since I've left the Legion."

Even though the toddler could not understand her father's words yet, she also giggled nevertheless at the man's intended humor. A finger tickled her under the chin in response as a way of saying, _Thank you, you're a beautiful audience!_ This kid refused to go to bed three hours ago, so Beau figured that the only way to make her cooperate would the same method his mother did with him.

"And that's how your silly, silly father and our whole family fought off the Sand Blasters and saved the entire town," Vanilla finished in a soft voice as she leaned against her husband's shoulder and gazed at the manifestation of her and Beau's love. Cream and Cheese clapped and smiled at the ending in approval. They'd never heard such a lovely story.

The ears of the adult rabbits flinched a bit at the sharp sound of the cuckoo clock striking ten. Beau chortled as he looked around at his kids. "There, ya happy? You got your story, so it's time you keep your end of the bargain, ya little rascal. And that goes double for you two."

His children, all three of them (yes, Cheese included), merely grinned—especially the baby.

_'Someone's lookin' a little too cheeky for my tastes,' _Beau thought with a wry glance at his and Vanilla's newborn daughter. So with a sly grin, he gave the kit's stomach a raspberry, making the infant squeal and laugh instantly, her arms swinging around in a vain attempt to escape.

Vanilla merely giggled once more before taking Cream by the hand and leading her down the nearby hall to the young lady's room, Cheese fluttering just behind them. The mother lapine looked over her shoulder at her spouse just before she entered her firstborn's room. "Your father's right. Let's get the two of you into bed. Goodnight, Beauregard."

"G'night, Nelly. Don't be gone too long."

After watching Vanilla blush at the suggestive goodbye and go into Cream's room, Beau walked down the opposite hall and opened a dark-brown, oak door that led to a darkened room where the walls and ceiling were lavender, the former decked throughout with tiny pictures of cartoonish dragons and fairies, the polished wooden floor cool to the bare feet of the wizened hare (dressed out in only a white muscle shirt and blue shorts) that walked up to a wooden crib where he set down his daughter onto a comfortable padding and then covered her up to the neck with a pink blanket.

Already, the little girl slipped into slumber, her eyelids opening and closing again and again until, finally, they stayed shut and her head fell back on the huge, fluffy, white pillow below it. Beau could only shake his head in amusement.

_'I figured that kid's antics would get her tuckered out.'_ He rubbed hand over the little one's head. _'Just like her old man...'_

Once again, Beau, taking a deep breath as he continued to regard his slumbering child, pondered on how far he'd come. That story he'd told the girl was true for the most part: Ozzie really did humiliate Jack enough that the other Sand Blasters made themselves easy pickings.

However, he'd left one personally crucial detail out, something that had happened in the aftermath of the one-sided battle. When Jack and his cronies were being carted off on the vehicles that would take them to the prison in New Mobotropolis, the embittered buck tossed two "parting gifts" to his old enemy before the doors shut on him completely, removing his face from Beau's life for what the Rabbot hoped would be the last time: a glare that could kill and this statement:

_A man like you could never be a father._

_'I beg to differ, Jack.'_

Jack's jab hit him hard at the time, yes, even if Beau never showed any signs of hurt or doubt, but the younger rabbit never counted on the fact that Beau's deepest fear had already been resolved for the most part. All the former Grandmaster—now a proud and happy father—needed to prove it lay in the young people who supported and admired him and, more importantly, the woman and girl—or _girls_ now— (and yes, even chao) that loved him.

Maybe happy endings were scarce, if not impossible, in reality. Maybe they were just a sort of escapism for children and sometimes adults, too, from the harshness of life.

That didn't matter.

No one said the same had to go for happy moments.

And for Beau, this was one of the happiest moments he could ever remember.

For Beau, life, for all its bumps along the road, could not get any better than this.

He bent down and kissed the top of his baby girl's head.

"G'night, mah Little Annie."

* * *

**Sorry about the lack of a fight scene. Again, I lack the necessary writing skill. Besides, I didn't want to pull away from the focus of this story. Not to mention this story is more fragmented than its predecessors—I wanted to get this story done as quickly as possible without making it lackluster.**


End file.
